Tips for opening and saving files in Mac OS X applications

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You probably know how to open and save files and documents in a Mac OS X application's File menu (or with Command-S and Command-O keyboard shortcuts), but you might not know about some other useful tricks for opening or saving files.

When saving a file, click the disclosure triangle in the dialog sheet to see more save locations and additional options.

In Mac OS X 10.3 or later, if you drag files or folders to a Finder window's sidebar, they will appear in the left side of an application's Open dialog sheets as well as the left side of Save dialog sheets where the disclosure triangle has been clicked (see previous tip).

You can drag a file or folder to an application's Open or Save dialog sheet to quickly select it.

Another option: Drag the small icon that appears on the title bar of a Finder or application's window (the "proxy icon") to the Open or Save sheet.

Want to type a specific location path? With the Open or Save dialog sheet open, press Command-Shift-G (or type "/"). A "Go To Folder" window appears where you can type a specific location, just like the Finder Go menu's Go To Folder option.